On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers narrowly escaped the Utah Jazz with a 108-106 victory in Salt Lake City.
Luka Doncic led the way for the Lakers, finishing the game with 33 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. Meanwhile, LeBron James struggled with his shot and played poorly down the stretch. He scored 17 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the field and 0-of-4 shooting from deep. He had a plus/minus of -14 in 34 minutes of action.
The NBA world took notice of James’ late-game stumbles.
NBA Fans Blast LeBron James for Poor Performance in Utah
With less than a minute remaining in the game, James had the ball on the wing while the Lakers held a four-point lead. He had 6-foot-4 guard Keyonte George isolated, and instead of attacking the rim or creating any paint pressure, he held the ball until the shot clock got below five seconds and then hoisted a three. It clanked off the back iron, and the Jazz came down and scored in transition.
LeBron is LUCKY the Lakers won.
Nearly blew it 😭 pic.twitter.com/2CJ7YjGrCS
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) November 24, 2025
Here’s what folks on the internet had to say after James almost cost the Lakers the game:
@NBAndChill: “He needs to chill with these LeF**kYou 3 attempts 😭”
@Treybrown3: “Got 6’3 pg on him ran the shot clock and launches a deep 3 😭”
@Shady6Pop: “Lebron will be the downfall of this teams championship hopes. They were playing so much better without him”
@JW205532: “Look at the Box. Lakers up 12 when he re-enters for Rui; barely win by 2. Then look at the +/-….only player in the negative and not even close (besides Ayton who got hurt and left early).”
@FwogRoss: “wtf they got Luka and AR on the wings And this is the shot they settle on!? Somebody go tell bron bron to go low and post up!!”
@JShampansky: “LeBron always taking a three up 4 trying to put the game away 🤣🤣🤣🤣”
@CEYorgason1225: “He did this over and over last year. Cost them a handful of games. He needs to realize he isn’t 31 any more (or even 38).”
What’s Next for the Lakers?
The 108-106 win in Utah was a much closer game than it should’ve been, but the Lakers still managed to leave the arena with a win and are now sitting at 12-4.
It’s only good for second in the Western Conference standings. Only the Oklahoma City Thunder (17-1) is ahead of them.
The Lakers have Monday off and will return to the court on Tuesday night when they host the floundering Los Angeles Clippers.
